Critical race feminism

Abstract

This chapter introduces critical race feminism (CRF) as an analytical tool to assess the legal plight of women in various jurisdictions. Developed primarily by U.S. legal authors, CRF draws from several other jurisprudential trends. After a general discussion of the various interwoven themes, the chapter applies a CRF analysis to the recent situation confronting Arab and/or Muslim women during the age of the continued War on Terror as well as the post–Arab Spring – what I have termed the ‘Arab season’. These women have been stigmatized and have faced substantial discrimination both in Western countries, where they are a minority, and in their countries of origin. The chapter concludes that a nuanced CRF approach reveals both the positive and the negative realities of Muslim/Arab women’s lives, and there is room for optimism as well as pessimism for the future. CRF is a term originally coined by Professor Richard Delgado (1995a), then of the University of Colorado Law School, in the first edition of his anthology Critical Race Theory: The Cutting Edge . CRF describes an emphasis on the legal status and rights of women of color around the world. I produced two editions of an anthology using this term – Critical Race Feminism: A Reader (Wing 1997, 2003). CRF poses two fundamental questions. First, what is the de jure and de facto legal status of women of color, whether they be minorities within the United States or Europe or part of majority cultures in the developing world? Second, what can a focused theoretical framework do to beneficially affect their condition? These queries are posed about this group because women of color are disproportionately stalled at the bottom of every society – economically, socially and politically – no matter what country they call their own. CRF seeks to identify and theorize about these issues and formulate relevant solutions as well. Furthermore, CRF may use a multidisciplinary approach that considers the law to be a necessary, but not sufficient, basis to formulate solutions to social justice dilemmas. Fields including history, sociology, psychology, criminology and education may be particularly relevant, and scholars in these disciplines are using CRF approaches (Pratt-Clarke 2010).